1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical recording medium, recording/reproducing apparatus and recording/reproducing method for defect management.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disc defect management is a process of compensating for data loss caused by a defect in a user data area of a disc, i.e., a defective block, by writing user data recorded in the defective block to a new portion of the user data area. Generally, disc defect management is performed using a linear replacement method or a slipping replacement method. In these methods, a defective area is replaced with a spare area having no defects. In the slipping replacement method, a defective area is slipped and a next non-defective area is used. In the linear replacement method, a block of a user data area in which a defect occurs is called a defective block. A replacement block for replacing a defective block is recorded in a spare area in a predetermined part of disc. Information on the defective block and the replacement block, i.e., information for searching the locations of the defective block and the replacement block, is presented in a defect list.
Generally, when a host reads data recorded on a disc, the host determines a logical address of the data and orders a hard disc drive to read the data. Then, the hard disc drive searches for a physical address corresponding to the logical address and reads the data recorded on the disc in a location corresponding to the physical address. If a defective block occurs in the data corresponding to the physical address, the hard disc drive has to find a replacement block that replaced the defective block. Therefore, a defect list includes defect list entries, each of the entries respectively containing information on each of the defective blocks. That is, a defect list entry is generated for each defective block, thus requiring a considerable recording space for the defect lists.
Therefore, effective management of a space for a defect list is required. For this, effective management of information on defective blocks is required, especially for defective blocks that occurred in consecutive locations of a user data area.